B.C. arcade lands one of the ‘rarest games in the world’

Whether you’re looking for a trip down memory lane or just something to do with the kids this weekend, Quazar’s Arcade in Victoria will have more than 20 vintage arcade games on the floor, including one of the rarest games in the world: Star Trek Captain’s Chair.

Some of the names among the new hoard of games include Frogger, Ms. Pac Man, Space Invaders, Tron, Tapper, Paper Boy and Star Wars Jedi Cock Pit.

Emily Sutherland of Quazar’s says people can experience a wave of nostalgia and introduce kids to the classics.

“My favourite game on the arcade side is — well, we just got Tapper, so it’s definitely Tapper — that’s a classic for me, also Tempest is awesome,” she says. “Then on the pinball side, it really does vary. It depends on the day and how I’m doing, but right now, I really love Star Trek The Next Generation and I love the Iron Maiden pinball machine as well.”

The arcade 31 different pinball machines and more than 80 arcade games that rotate in and out for the main floorspace so people playing games they haven’t seen before or at least for a couple weeks.

Quazar’s has a few other rare games, including Dragon’s Lair 1 and 2. Star Trek Captain’s Chair is a virtual tour of five top starship bridges.

“Most of the games we have are from the 80’s so they’re 30 years old. They don’t really make arcade machines anymore, at least not the classics,” said Quazar’s co-owner Steve Webb. “Arcades pretty much disappeared entirely at the turn of the century. When the arcade industry dried up there wasn’t a lot of stock put into protecting these machines.”

Most arcade games take one token, which costs 50 cents, while the pinball machines are two tokens. A select few are three tokens, if they are particularly rare.

A few games have been placed around the city as well, with one at Empire Donuts in Cook Street Village and one at Lucky Bar downtown.

Quazar’s will be open from noon to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the Victoria Day long weekend to celebrate the new games.